The present invention relates generally to paint rollers. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for fabrication of the covers used on paint rollers.
Paint rollers are well known in the art as a fast and convenient means by which to coat a flat surface with a layer of paint. Unfortunately, such rollers are only capable of spreading a uniform coat of a given paint color across the surface, and cannot be effectively used to create designs or patterns on the surface. In the 1930""s custom wall painting techniques, such as rag rolling and sponging become popular as a means to attain a decorative, patterned paint coating on a wall, ceiling or the like. Unfortunately, such techniques generally required a great deal of time and skill to successfully complete, making them unfeasible options for the general public. As a result, those wishing to obtain decorative patterns typically have had to resort to covering their walls with wallpaper. However, wallpaper is also very expensive, and its application requires skills that many people do not possess. Wallpaper is also undesirable because its removal is an arduous process that requires a good deal of time.
In recent years it has once again become popular to use custom wall painting in the decoration of homes. Custom wall painting provides a unique look for a room in a particular house and many times, if the home owner is able, the look achieved is somewhat like wallpaper but is much less expensive than wallpaper. The present techniques are also faster than the application of wallpaper, less materials are required and, therefore, there is less to handle. In addition, when custom painting is used as opposed to wallpaper, there is no need to match rolls of paper from various paint batches nor is there a need for matching seams or a need for excessive amounts of equipment. Two of the more common types of custom wall painting used in home decorating are sponging and rag painting. In many instances a home owner is able to use these two techniques to produce a very professional-looking wall or room. It is has become so popular in fact that sometimes professional painters are hired to apply these techniques to rooms of houses.
Custom wall painting has also become desired for commercial applications in large-scale buildings. The custom wall painting produces a wallpaper effect and is usually cheaper to apply than other wall coverings, such as wallpaper. Even though the current methods for sponge painting and rag rolling a wall or the walls of the room are much quicker than applying wallpaper, it would be advantageous if there were still quicker methods that could be employed to produce custom wall painting. The current method for sponge painting a wall requires rolling or applying an initial base color to a wall and allowing it to dry. After the wall is dry, a second color is used. A natural sponge is dipped into a second color and then the excess paint absorbed by the sponge is blotted away so that the amount of paint left in the sponge is enough to transfer paint onto the wall yet not enough to produce a solid shape onto the wall. The natural sponge is then used to contact the wall and apply the second color of paint over the base color previously applied. Once the paint within the sponge runs out, the sponge is reinserted into the second color, blotted so the excess paint comes off the sponge and then applied to the wall. This process is repeated until the entire wall or room is painted. Even though this method is faster than applying wallpaper to a room, it still has some problems. First of all, paint is wasted since excessive paint is blotted out of the natural sponge. Secondly, the process is time consuming since a first layer of paint must be applied before the second xe2x80x9cspongedxe2x80x9d layer of paint is applied to the wall.
Another common home-decorating technique for applying paint is called rag rolling. U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,703 issued to Niven shows a roller having specialized slots therein. The specialized slots receive a rag that is wrapped around the roller and catches or is hooked into the various slots on the roller cover. Paint is applied to the rag and then the roller is used to apply or contact the wall to be painted. Like sponge painting, an initial layer or base layer must be applied to the surface. The initial layer of paint must be allowed to dry before rag rolling the second layer. Rag rolling can also be accomplished by wrapping a rag around a roller, applying paint to the rag and rolling it over a base layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,179 issued to Wright et al. shows a decorating tool that has flaps attached to a roller. The roller is used to produce a broken patterned surface-coating which is quick and easy to use even by non-specialists painters. One of the objects of U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,179 is to produce a tool which simulates the broken pattern of rag rolling.
The shortcomings associated with sponge painting are approximately the same as the shortcomings associated with rag rolling. In addition, a rag must be dealt with when using the rag rolling technique. This technique is somewhat more difficult than sponge painting a wall. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,179 includes the additional shortcoming that it will be difficult to control the amount of paint in the flaps attached to the roller. The flaps might also produce paint splatters. The flaps are also limp as shown in FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,179.
These methods are labor intensive, so there is a need for an apparatus which could produce sponge painting effect, custom wall painting as well as rag roll-type custom wall painting. There is also a need for several other custom wall painting schemes. There is also a need for a manufacturing process and apparatus that can be used on commercially available roller covers to produce sponge painting-type custom walls as well as rag rolling-type custom walls. In addition, there is a need for an apparatus and method that can be used to treat commonly available roller covers that will produce other patterns to produce a custom painted wall. There is also a need for a process and apparatus that can produce roller covers for custom wall painting quickly and inexpensively. There is also a need for a process and apparatus that can be used to process commonly available rollers quickly and efficiently.
A process for treating roller covers for a paint roller includes the steps of providing a surface, forming a pattern on the surface, heating the surface, and contacting the roller cover with the heated surface. The heated surface is a metal. The heat is transferred from the heated metal surface to the roller cover when the heated metal surface contacts the roller cover. The heated surface sears or melts the nap of the roller cover. The surface can be provided with a pattern so that a pattern can be placed into the nap of the roller cover. The amount of heat is carefully controlled so that the desired amount of melting takes place on the nap. The end result of this process is a patterned roller that can be used to produce various effects when used to paint a wall or other surface. It should be pointed out that different patterns can be made onto the surface. It should also be pointed out that different depths of the surface and different amounts of heat can be employed to produce rollers having a different effect on painted walls.
A method for treating a roller cover include the steps of positioning an element with respect to a roller cover and removing a portion of the roller cover with said element to form a pattern on said roller cover. A laser could be positioned in close proximity to the roller cover. The laser could be held stationary or moved. The roller cover or covers could then be moved as well as rotated while the laser removed material from the nap of the roller cover or burned a desired pattern into the roller cover.
An apparatus used to treat the surface of a roller cover includes a surface having a desired pattern therein. A holder for a roller cover holds or presents the roller cover to the surface. A heater is attached to the surface. The apparatus may also include a mechanism for moving the surface. The apparatus may also include another mechanism for moving the surface. The various mechanisms can move at various rates with respect to one another. The surface can take one of several different forms. For example, the surface can be a die or a cylinder, or a paddle wheel like structure where individual paddles are brought into contact with the nap of the roller cover. The paddle wheel structure having individual elements can be used to touch the nap or surface of the roller cover. The dies are typically used to place a deeper pattern into the nap of a roller cover.
Advantageously, the manufacturing methods are used to process available roller covers. The manufacturing process is fast, efficient and relatively inexpensive. The end result is a roller cover that can be used by any person having the skill to paint with a roller but which can be used to produce a custom wall paint finish on most any desired surface.